Fireside Chat

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Berlin
Germany

Version excursion with Moritz von Oswald: The genesis of Rhythm & Sound, Basic Channel, Maurizio and Main Street as told by the man himself.

Bassbins were practically born with _(artist-name)Moritz von Oswald_ in mind. One of the few techno artists who can rightfully claim to have spearheaded a whole new movement, this enigmatic character has been in the shadows behind numerous influential records as a mastering and cutting engineer at Dubplates & Mastering in Berlin. Long before that, he caught a glimpse of the pop star life while being the drummer of one of Germany’s finest new wave outfits, _(artist-name)Palais Schaumburg_. Von Oswald also co-founded the legendary Basic Channel Records (with _(artist-name)Mark Ernestus_), whose various releases were somatic echo-chamber washes of minimal techno. As part of the Berlin/Detroit axis, these seminal records are characterized by a 4x4 beat with dub-inflected syncopated synth pads, slowly modulated over time and time again. Under the _(artist-name)Maurizio_ guise the duo produced cult collector platters as well as remixes of artists like _(artist-name)Carl Craig_ that fused metallic delays with shimmering sunshine-coloured reveries, before they moved on to do deep house with their _(album-title)Round One_ to _(album-title)Round Five_ series, and eventually reaching dub reggae as _(artist-name)Rhythm & Sound_. Fusing their interests in dub and techno even further, where Jamaican vocalists sing or speak over stripped-down techno beats and bass, von Oswald and Ernestus created a definitive and monolithic statement until they decided to put the project to a halt, which drove people as crazy as their strict no-interviews-please policy. Amongst many projects that have evolved since, the _(artist-name)Moritz von Oswald Trio_ holds a special position. Together with like-minded artists _(artist-name)Max Loderbauer_ aka _(artist-name)NSI_ and _(artist-name)Sun Electric_, and Sasu Ripatti aka _(artist-name)Vladislav Delay_ and _(artist-name)Luomo_, von Oswald uses the trio format to explore the borders between techno, jazz, and contemporary classical music, equally at home with calypso as it is with Stravinsky.